Deadly Car Accident on Washington Road, a Serious Entry

Dearest Readers,

Warning: This post is serious, like bone chilling serious. No normal adorkable quips and witticisms…just a college girl trying to think about a horrific accident. I won’t be offended if you close this window.

Sometimes, when awful things happen, you get in a funk and all these big abstract ideas and questions and values and thoughts swim around in your brain and you feel like you have no constructive way to deal with them. I try to use words. Black and white soothes me. Syntax. Rhythm. Catharsis. Please know I am not trying to take someone else’s pain and use it for my blog’s benefit…I am using my blog as a personal outlet for the unexplainables that are quietly filling my mind.

At an intersection right by my house, a 20-year-old boy was driving a car high with seven traffic violations over the past few months. He turned a corner without stopping at a stop sign and hit a jogging mother who was pushing a stroller with her 1 year old and 3 year old children. He hit her. The kids were fine, but she died today (a day after the incident). A mother died, and so did the driver’s dreams for the future. I didn’t know any of the parties involved personally, but when a horrific accident like that happens so close to your home, you can’t help but be shaken. (read the full story here) Here are my rambling thoughts that hopefully will help verbalize some of the local readers’ thoughts readers or will at least remind you to be thankful for your life.

My mom used to walk that same street with my brother and I and my neighbor with young toddlers. I turn out of that intersection every single day. It could have been me; it could have been her.

My friend brought up the point: the woman was just going for a jog. She left her house and as she was crossing that street, she was probably thinking about dinner for that night, she may have been annoyed with her kids, or trying to get home in time to change one of their diapers. Menial things. Death was the last thing on her mind. Imagine that. She was 36.

The driver is what keeps catching me up. He was 20. A year older than me and he went to my high school. He was known for drugs, but I never heard about him being a bad kid. He was stupid for driving that way. Obviously, but his future died that day too. He has to live forever with the guilt that he killed this woman…I can’t even imagine the weight of it all on him. He will probably go to prison.

Last year, when I was driving home from the beach with friends, we pulled off as we were lost, and entered a not well-marked intersection. I went slowly, but I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to stop or not, when a bicycle came from out of no where (or so I attest). I screeched on the brakes and he swerved, making it to the sidewalk and falling off of his bike only to stand up unharmed. It was one of those moments where you just can’t believe what almost happened. We pulled off into a parking lot and I was shaking. I wasn’t sure I could drive anymore, and then the biker came to the window. He told me he was the father of 8 and what if I had killed him? He limped off. What if it had been me? What if it had been me?

Another friend and I discussed this: Think of how many moments built to the accident near my house. The mom left a few minutes after her normal time, because the 1 year old was fussy. The driver decided to go a different way home. She stopped to say hi to a neighbor on the way. The driver was changing the radio station and looking down. Every moment lined up to create this. I feel like my small almost incident was my one get out of jail free card, and look at how easily it could have been this.

The hard part for me is that I have nothing constructive to do. So people change their driving habits for a week or a day, what does it take to make a lasting impact? How do I help a family I don’t even know? I can’t help. I can only stare at the lives of strangers, almost shake at the horridness and move forward.

Lesson to be Learned: These events shake you, but they remind you to live each day and appreciate every moment. I know it’s totally cliché, but how can you not think that after hearing something like this? Can you blame me?

So I guess, all I can do is say R.I.P. and I hope everyone who reads this is more aware, because really, it’s the least we can do.

Sincerely,

Adorkable

Starting the Summer Off with Accidental Insults and Ridiculous Adventures

Dearest Readers,

Did you miss me?? (of course you did pfffft) I am very sorry for my 20ish day hiatus. I kept putting it off. Finals week. Coming home. New job. You know the drill…the more I pushed it off the greater the task seemed to loom. As if a blog post is unconquerable or a scary green and blue monster (I don’t know how I chose those colors either). So here I am…you are probably curious, oh loving readers, as to what crazy shenanigans I have been up to and what I, this crazy kid, has to say. Oh readers, have I got stories for you!

Mostly I have been working as an intern for Whirl and Edible Allegheny Magazines. (same office) All I can say is, it’s wonderful. I am working at Bath and Body Works (because scented lotion is my calling). And then I hang with my fabulous friends…and this is where all of my best stories occur.

Adorkabley Embarrassing Moment: Insulting a Room of Strangers

So lately my friends have been on a kick of trying to get out of our bubble-like suburb. So a friend, who I will call Brother Flail, discovered a comedy open mike. Oh kay people, there are several red flags here: the open mike is located at some place called “The Royal,” on a Thursday night, and it’s an open mike…oh dear. Now as a comedy lover and improv performer myself, I was wary, but we decided to go to do something different. It was something different alright. We walked up the creeky stairs to the “lounge:” an empty room over a bar decorated with canvas paintings of bricks (that’s right people, brick photos were used as art). Two people were there when we arrived, and clearly they were startled to see five college-age students arrive. It was shady, however, since no one was there I decided why not perform for just two people and my friends? HAH! (bad idea, never again). Right after I signed up, in walked 5 other comics who added their names to the list. People who had worked to come up with jokes and a plan (I had nothing…but regret of course). Everyone performed aiming their jokes solely at us, because we were the only new audience members. Some were funny, most made jokes about being unemployed or getting a divorce or something equally awkward. It was probably the two most uncomfortable hours of my life (which basically means I basically peed myself laughing and it was totally awesome). I decided, clever me, to perform my forensics (speech and debate) piece from last year: a children’s novel about santa’s daughter. (yes I know this was a bad idea, but it was all I had prepared in any way shape or form). When my turn finally came, my trouble began (because it was smooth sailing before now):

I decided to break the ice, I would talk about how I was in an improv troupe at school so I really respected how they got up in front of people in the name of comedy. That is what I intended to say, but here is what I said instead: “Just wanted to say I’m in an improv troupe, so I know what its like to perform and fail….oh gosh no I meant…I know what it’s like when a joke flops…oh wait no I meant” (at this point I was digging a severe hole, my face had reached a new level of fuchsia and my friends were sitting in the corner guffawing at me…oh expletive) from there I performed a 5 minute flustered, shortened version of my piece. (In front of a bunch of 20-40 aged men who had just performed stand up let it suffice to say it didn’t go over particularly well). I basically sprinted off stage (the show saved me for last btw, because they wanted to end with that gem) and as we were leaving, one of the guys, who was very nice I’m sure but at this point was a 28 year old guy sweating pleasantly through his shirt, asked me if I was an actress and if so could he have my number. (oh goodness was he hitting on me?) To be fair he could have been perfectly innocent in his inquiry, but I mumbled something about being gone most of the summer and ducked away in a dead sprint. As I took the stairs 4 at a time in ungraceful leaps, they yelled down that they hoped to see us next week. I think once was quite enough for me thanks.

Lesson to be learned: Do something different, because even if it doesn’t end up as you planned, you will always come back with a story.

Although I have many more stories for you, my beautiful readers, this is long enough as it is so I will leave you with one little anecdote:

Last night, my friend, who I will call the Maestro, was driving and he loves him some classical music. So the four of us in the car decided it would be fun to drive around late at night, pull up next to cars late at red lights, and blast classical music while dancing as if it was modern music. Imagine their surprise when they see these teens rocking out to Mozart! Hahahaha (how quintessentially adorkable). We switched it up by blasting the music and staring at people or sitting perfectly still or doing the robot or interpretive dancing. Moral of the story is: it was awesome.

Second Lesson to be learned: You don’t need much to do something creative, different, and hilarious.

Do something crazy today! If any of you have any stories of doing something really bizarre and hilarious please share by leaving a comment! (I love comments a whole lot.) More stories of adorkable craziness are on the way!

Tonguetied-ily Yours,

Adorkable

ps. the picture is mine again...just a summer pic!

The End of the Beginning: Reflections of a College Freshman

Dearest Readers,

I am coming to the end of the beginning. How bizarre. If you think about it, this whole blog has been predicated on the premise that I am a mumbling, stumbling freshman … and I am almost not a freshman anymore. When did that happen? It’s like I’ve been in college forever and yet not at all. I feel like I looked to college as this colossal beast that I would conquer with my witty cracks and poised pen, and now I feel like it’s just the way I live, no conquering is really involved. What a strange place I’m in. I feel the need to blather about this, because I know I’m not the only one.

So I am going to dedicate this post to the things I’ve learned. Because Ohio University is on trimesters (which is great for the whole year until right now), I am still in school until mid June (aka next week) while all of my high school friends are already free and up to their general shenaniganry without me, so I feel like I want to be home so badly I am not giving this year the closure it deserves. As much as I’ve complained and hated this or that, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this year as a freshman finding my way. So as I’ve ambled through this year, here is what I’ve found through sheer trial and error (and for some reason I am under the impression that you will want to read it … ):

1. You don’t have to love college all the time. Now don’t get me wrong here people, overall love should exist. But I had myself convinced I had to have the best 4 years of my life so I better love every second. That’s not possible. Don’t panic when you don’t love it sometimes (Not that I ever did that….that would be silly…*I did*). College, like all parts of life, has its ups and downs.

2. Separate yourself from school. It’s easy when you live on campus to be totally caught up in school (aka homework) all the time. Let yourself breathe. You will only focus when you have given yourself a necessary mental break. I have tried this quarter to be more focused when I study and to relax more when I’m relaxing (seems kind of counter intuitive doesn’t it…forcing relaxation), but it has really helped my productivity.

3. Find creative things to do and actually do them. College campuses have the randomest and coolest things (I know fab word choices) to do that you really can’t do anywhere else. Go see the modern dance performance, watch the Shakespeare play, go to ‘90s night on the green, get a water massage, go to the farmer’s market, see the graphic art exhibit, and check out the improv shows (hint nudge). Just hanging with people is great, but try to live and experience life at college too.

4. Connect with where you live. For some colleges this is easier than others, but in Athens, there is a program called Service Living where you volunteer in the town 3 hours a week and talk about the area weekly. While I wasn’t always the most committed to the meetings, I learned so much about where I was. Because really how can you establish roots somewhere when you don’t even know the ground beneath you? (didn’t that sound so deep and philosophical…I should make inspirational magnets! Does that profession even exist?)

5. Find your niche. Join something where you have a solid comfort group. They don’t have to be your besties for life, but it is really important to find like-minded support systems. Just really commit to one activity, organization, or dorm floor. Sometimes it takes a while to find your true niche, so don’t panic. You’ll find it. You are a fabulous person. (Yes I mean you…you’re welcome…forward all thank you cards to my blog…tee hee).

6. Don’t burn yourself out. I don’t know anything about this … joke … I know everything about this. In high school you can do everything to a certain extent, because everything only requires 100% … In college, everything requires 150%, ergo you can’t do it all. Take it from a girl who can’t say no, learn to say no. You have to let yourself enjoy the social aspects of college and even your classes. Don’t lose sight of those things. Pick a few things and deeply commit yourself, because if you’re stretched too thin you will never survive and won’t love anything anymore.

7. It is all about you. As I said in a previous post, I have been told that college is the one time it is all about you. So do what is best for you. When you are unhappy, fix it. When you want to join something, do it. When you want to attend something your friends don’t want to, go to it. Do something crazy, and live for heaven’s sake before you get smart enough to realize it’s an inane idea.

Lesson to be learned: As my idol Auntie Mame of the play Auntie Mame (I played her in a high school play … time of my life) “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!” This isn’t a literal message here, folks. Take a second to think abut that quote, reread it or something, there is so much to live for that people don’t take advantage of, so live while you can.

Well, this ended up being much more philosophical then I expected (I literally just started typing and all of these things came out … who knew I had all of this pent up advice? I didn’t that’s for sure). In the end, I guess I am a bit wiser after this year, but not in any of the way’s I expected. Well that’s college for you … nothing like what you expect … not bad, just different and in many ways so much better. :] I’m really interested to hear what all the graduated freshman learned this year!! Did you learn similar lessons or have something you would add to my clearly really complete list?

Thanks for reading with me this year, and don’t worry this blog will continue even though the year is ending. But seriously, thanks for keeping tabs on me this year everybody. A big kiss on the forehead for each of you *swack* (I think that is the accepted kiss noise … though I don’t know if I really agree)

Sophomorically Yours, (get it … sophomorically…hee hee)

Adorkable

ps. the picture is mine again yay!!

pps. my blog is basically in love with another blog by one of my ou journalism bffs the nerdsmith (seriously his blog is nerdify yourself and mine is adorkable...it's a match made in blog heaven) you can check it out here.